Stay With Me
by Inextricable
Summary: Rachel and Puck get close during their Sophomore year, but what happens when Rachel finds out about him being Quinn's baby daddy? Can he convince her to stay, or will he be left wondering what could have been? Season 1 rewrite.
1. Questionable Events

**AN: Another new story, I know shame on me. For those who are reading my MIOBI fic, I currently have the next chapter in the works, it should be up within a few days. Anyways…**

**This fic takes place in season one, this chapter and the next (which will be in Pucks POV) will catch up to the point where I want to start my story, showing modifications to the story line to make my story make sense. I hope its not too confusing! I already have the next chapter ready to go and the third started. I'm not really happy with how this chapter came out but anyways… Enjoy! **

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or any songs that might end up being mentioned throughout the story.**_

When sophomore year started, Rachel Berry joined Glee club with ease. She'd known her whole life that she wanted to be a star, which was why she always signed her name with a gold star of course. What she hadn't planned when she stuck that little sticker next to her name on the signup sheet however, was the confusing rollercoaster of the year that was now facing her as she sealed her future with the single gold star.

She thought that it was fairly complicated having to have Finn, quarterback of the football team, join glee club (although who could dispute his heavenly voice that worked so perfectly with hers?) and then to have his jealous girlfriend join with her two best friends. In return, a few other football players also joined to flank Finn. The numbers of course, were needed for the clubs survival if they were to be serious about competing. With this in mind, Rachel tried to ignore the fact that one of the males, Noah Puckerman, had been the main source behind much of the torture she and her fellow glee clubbers had to survive since high school began.

Much to her surprise, the newcomers were actually fairly talented in comparison to most of the student body. She contented herself with the fact that they could actually help the club win the competitions and move her along on her way to stardom.

Things had gotten complicated quickly for Rachel however. It was nearly impossible to ignore Finn's adoring looks he often gave her while they were singing and, before she knew it, Rachel was swooning over the most popular guy in the school. This didn't last very long as Finn suddenly stopped speaking to Rachel completely after kissing her once in the auditorium.

The first extreme shock that she'd had that year was Quinn cornering her in the bathroom during her brief time away from glee club…

"_Hey Berry." Rachel turned on her heel, slightly annoyed by the distraction. The bell for her next class was bound to ring any moment and tardiness really was not acceptable. Her eyes widened at the sight in front of her and she knew she'd be late to her math class no matter how much she hated tardiness. _

_Purple blocked her vision as the slushie hit her in the face. She licked her lips without thinking about it; at least it was grape today. The relieved moment vanished when she heard Puck laughing with the other footballers who had watched as her fellow glee member slushied her. _You mean ex-fellow glee member, you quit the club remember Rachel?_ She scolded herself as she shook the grape slushie off her binders and walked briskly to the girls bathroom. _

_She began to brush the rest of the slushie from her face and hair into the sink as she waited for the water to get the desired temperature. Sighing again, she pulled off her sweater, thankfully the only article of clothing to get hit with the offending drink. _

"_Leaving glee really was a mistake for you wasn't it?" a patronizing voice came from behind Rachel and she looked in the mirror to see the head Cheerio, Quinn, staring at her. _

_Rachel shrugged her shoulder as she dampened a paper towel to clean the slushie out of her hair. "One has to do what will put them ahead in life. I simply chose the path that I thought would get me to Broadway faster." She briefly saw Quinn roll her eyes before taking another cloth to clean her face. _

"_Look Ru-Paul, you might get on my last nerves sometimes when you start talking like we're all just a bunch of Lima Losers and tools for you to become big in the world or whatever. But let's get real here." _

_Rachel lowered the cloth from her face, feeling suspicious. _"_Quinn, I'm sure whatever you've got planned to say to me has a bit of truth behind it, but I've decided my course. So thank you but I'm not interested in hearing what you have to say right now." She went to grab her books, fully planning on making an excuse to her teacher about why she was so late._

_Quinn seemed to have other plans as she locked the girls bathroom and blocked the door, "No Rachel, its time you shut up and listened to someone for once! You might be fooling Finn, Mr. Schue and everyone else in glee that you're okay with quitting and joining this stupid play, but we both know you're not." _

_Rachel tried to deny this, she really did. But she couldn't come up with anything compelling to say that would back up her actions that she hadn't already said. Quinn smiled at her sadly, "You could always come back you know. As much as I hate to admit it, we need your voice. Just do yourself a favor and when you come back, stop making moon eyes at my boyfriend." Rachel bit her tongue, holding back the retort she so badly wanted to shoot back at the perfect blond. _

_The head Cheerio turned and unlocked the room and began to turn the handle when she seemed to change her mind. "One last thing Man Hands," she looked back at Rachel. "Pay attention to the people around you from now on. You might just learn something surprising about them and yourself." _

Rachel had planned on listening to Quinn's warning, she really had. But later that day Finn asked her out on a date, her first real date. Looking back now, she really shouldn't have gone out with him. They'd kissed again and Rachel felt fireworks go off and butterflies invade her stomach. So she'd decided to go back to glee, because Finn had said he wanted to be with her. It seemed like she would finally get her happily ever after.

But that Monday her short lived fairy tale shattered into a million pieces. Quinn was pregnant, Finn was the father. Part of her wondered if she and Finn would have gotten together anyways if it weren't for Puck stepping into her life at almost the exact time. She often caught Finn staring at her, giving her the same loving look during their duets that he did before Quinn broke her baby gate.

The fact of the matter however was that Puck did invade her life mere days after the news about Quinn's baby came out.

"_Yo Berry, wait up!" a voice called from behind Rachel as she was walking to the parking lot after glee practice. She'd bolted the moment Mr. Schue had called the session to an end, wanting to get as far away from Finn's longing looks and Quinn's glares as possible. "Berry seriously, slow the fuck down."_

_She sighed and spun to glare at Puck, "What is it that you need?" she hadn't forgotten that not even a week ago the boy was throwing frozen beverages at her face. He was close to the bottom of the list of people she'd be willing to speak to right now._

_The football player jogged to catch up to her, breathing a bit heavily. "I want you to tutor me."_

_It took all of Rachel's will power not to laugh in his face. Noah Puckerman, resident badass, wanting tutoring? She decided to be nice about his request, besides he might be requesting singing lessons, which she certainly could help him with. "What do you need help with then? If it's your higher range, I can work on it but I honestly think your voice works better in the lower-" _

"_What? No not singing. I need tutoring in my classes. Like math and shit." _

That short conversation started a very bizarre line of events for Rachel Berry. From that day on she found herself at the Puckerman household after school three nights a week. The duo had been lucky to see that their football and dance practices happened to be on the same days, so they didn't disrupt the schedule they made. They would spend two hours doing homework together, only interrupted if Puck needed help on something or if his little sister needed something.

It was shocking to Rachel how seriously Puck was taking his education now. Every time she attempted to prod him about why it was so important all of a sudden he'd mumble about being a Lima Loser. Whenever she'd try to convince him that he wasn't a Lima Loser he'd growl that it wasn't her he needed to convince. It made absolutely no sense, but who was she to argue it?

Quinn had gone right back to glaring at Rachel daily, not missing the glances Finn always sent her way. Rachel however, slowly started missing most of these glances as most of her attention was taken up by a certain boy with a mohawk.

Their study nights had extended in time, Puck slacking on taking her home until well after his little sister had gone to bed. Rachel had brushed her fathers off on their suspicions saying that Puck could use the extra help with his sister since his mother was working third shift for the next few weeks. She made herself complacent with the fact that she wasn't actually lying to them. She just wasn't informing them of the steamy make out sessions that occurred almost right after Pucks little sister was safe in her own bed.

Both of them had been happy enjoying each other company and hot hook ups for weeks. They'd learned about each other slowly during their days together and Rachel even began to consider Puck as a close friend, even if his friends did still tend to give her slushie facials.

Rachel chastised herself for not realizing the peaceful, somewhat strange pattern her weeks had formed could so easily be shifted by even the smallest requests.

"_Hey baby, I was thinking maybe we could make this thing official." Puck whispered to her one night after a rather extensive session in his bed. She had almost even let Puck take her shirt off this time. _

_Rachel blinked at him, "What do you mean make it official? Like parade down the halls holding hands informing everyone that we are now boyfriend and girlfriend?" she rambled very quickly, nerves setting in. She thought they were under a silent agreement that they'd keep whatever it was that they were, simple and secret, so why was Puck suddenly wanting more than that?_

_He sat up, propping himself up on his elbows, "Uh, nothing like that. I mean, maybe just being more exclusive you know? You'll be my girl and shit, but we don't have to go flaunting it in everyone's faces." He shrugged dismissively._

_So he was asking for them to stop seeing others? Rachel cleared her throat as she sat up next to him, flatting out her skirt, "Well I don't know about that Noah, I need a leading man. Someone who can keep up with me and handle loving a very high maintenance girl."_

_Puck scoffed loudly, "Are you questioning my bad assnesss?" _

"_No, I'm merely saying that if you were to…let's say sing a solo I would be more confident in the prospect of a healthy relationship with you."_

The next glee session Puck swept her off her feet with his rendition of Sweet Caroline. It had been the sweetest thing Rachel ever heard in her life and from that point on she couldn't deny Puck anything he wanted.

But much to her dismay, the changes in the club didn't stop there. Puck and Finn whom were supposed to be the best of friends, began fighting almost every time they came in close contact with each other. Rachel noticed Santana spending copious amounts of time with Puck between classes, after school, and generally any time she wasn't with him. Puck had promised nothing would ever happen between the two again, but Rachel was skeptical considering Santana's long record of being a boyfriend stealer.

"_Stop worrying about Santana." A voice called from behind Rachel and she spun around to see Quinn standing behind her._

"_You really need to make your presence known before you end up giving someone a heart attack." She gasped out, holding a hand to her chest. "Wait, why would I be worrying about Santana?"_

_The blond rolled her eyes, "It's written all over your face every time you see them together. Just ignore it, Pucks absolutely insane about you, you know?" Rachel didn't miss the blonds small gesture of holding her stomach, almost as if she was unsure of something._

"_Finn's crazy about you too." She tried to reassure the blond, not knowing why she felt she needed to._

_Quinn smiled sadly, "He's crazy about the baby, there's a big difference in that. Thanks for trying anyways…" she seemed to struggle with what she wanted to say next. "I… I wanted to thank you for backing off from Finn too. I know a lot of that has to deal with Puck but, still." The cheerleader shrugged her shoulder before leaving Rachel alone in the choir room, feeling horribly guilty._

From that moment on, Rachel felt as if she and Quinn were almost, kind of, friends. The blond seemed to be much nicer to her now anyways. She'd even stop to talk to Rachel once in awhile. There were usually sideways insults thrown into the conversations, always directed at Rachel but she tried to ignore it for the sake of possibly forming a new friendship.

So when she walked in unnoticed during a glee gossip meeting, she shouldn't have been so surprised that her happy little bubble couldn't last forever. She just didn't think it would have been exploded so horribly.

**AN 2: Chapter two should be up within a week or so. Most likely whenever I finish the third chapter so that I don't get too overwhelmed. x**


	2. Changes

Puck hated that Finn would stare so much at Rachel. The dude already had the one girl Puck wanted so badly and was practically throwing it away for some crazy chick who dressed like a kinky school girl who forgot to take her grandma's sweater off. Sure the girl could sing better than anyone Puck had ever heard before, but how could that alone be enough for Finn to even consider giving up the hottest, most amazing girl in the school?

He kept his mouth shut though, just because that's what guys were supposed to do. The guy code came before anything. Almost anything. That is, until news about Quinn's baby… _his_ baby (because really, getting pregnant without any insertion? How dumb could Finn get?) dropped, and Finn _still_ stared at the crazy midget. The combination of Quinn shooting him down violently, calling him a Lima Loser, and Finn being idiotic and continuing to look at Berry the same way he had for the past few weeks drove Puck to the edge. So in response, he'd thrown a slushie at her again. It didn't escape his notice how she had licked her lips, tasting the grape drink before shaking it off her face.

The next week he had another argument with Quinn. He could step up and be the man she needed him to be; he'd do anything to prove he _wasn't _just a Lima Loser. He pointed out how Finn was drooling over the Berry girl and how Quinn deserved better than that, but she didn't care. He wouldn't let it go though, and in anger she snapped at him: if he could raise all of his grades to at least a B, she'd give him the time of day. Until then, she wanted him to leave her the hell alone.

Puck took this challenge seriously. He couldn't be a deadbeat like his dad. He wouldn't let that happen. But as it was, he was barely scraping non-failing grades in his classes right now. Who did he know that could possibly help raise his grades so dramatically before the semester was over? He was pondering over this during glee club when he heard someone ranting to Mr. Schue. He looked up. Rachel Berry was rambling about something he didn't care about, using words so big that Puck had to wonder if she didn't have a dictionary built into her brain.

He felt a little offended by the fact that Berry thought he wanted singing lessons. Girls swooned over his smooth voice, there was no need to mess with perfection. He bit back his insults for the sake of his future though. It'd surprised him a bit when she agreed and mapped out a schedule for him, being careful to work around his practices. Three days a week seemed like a bit much to him, but the moment they started he realized three nights might not even be enough to catch him up with his school work and get his grades up.

Puck didn't notice the way it became normal for him to call her Rachel or even Rach on a good day. He didn't realize why he got so snippy if anyone tried to throw a grape slushie at her. It stunned him how he didn't want anyone to throw a slushie at her at all, but he couldn't stop them from doing it. Not without ruining his badass reputation anyways, and he wasn't about to let that go. He shook off any weird feelings he had regarding Rachel as gratitude for her tutoring services.

He wasn't aware that each night Rachel was at his house he was making excuses to extend her time there, like asking for help with Abi, making dinner, doing dishes, or watching a movie someone mentioned in glee so that he wouldn't be out of the loop. Puck couldn't for the life of him remember how he and Rachel making out started. They'd just put Abi to bed and were about to resume watching the movie put on earlier. The next thing he knew, he had the smaller girl pinned beneath him, their tongues in a war of dominance.

He didn't think anyone was taking notice of the difference in his life. Nothing at school had really changed other than him only giving slushie facials to non-glee geeks.

_His locker slammed shut as he pulled his last book out of it and he nearly jumped back. "So how long have you been screwing Berry?" Santana was smirking at him._

_Puck snorted at her as he slung his bag over his shoulder, "I'm not screwing anyone Lopez." He missed the shocked look on her face as he turned around._

_The Latina followed him down the nearly empty halls, "Okay, hooking up with her then. Whatever you wanna call it. And don't try to deny that shit, it's all over your face that you're getting all up in that." _

"_Why do you care?" he snapped as he tried to shake her off. It was one of his rare free days from tutoring, and Puck badly wanted to go to the local 7-11 and get some beer. _

_Santana shrugged, "Just wanna be sure you're not fucking things up for yourself. Berry's not the type of girl to just fuck around and not have her claws in the guy y'know?" _

_Puck sighed to himself, not wanting to admit to himself that she made a valid point._

A few nights after that weird conversation, Puck's mom started chastising him for never getting a good Jewish girl as a girlfriend. She cried about why he hadn't claimed Rachel for his own, considering how she was practically part of the family now. It made Puck uncomfortable at first, and he tried to push the conversation as far from his mind as possible.

It didn't help that Santana seemed to be on the same wave length as his mom, but unlike the latter, she could hound him every day almost all day about it. He'd lost count of how many times she'd yell at him to hurry up and "put a ring on it" before Finn found out about the baby drama and ran into Rachel's arms.

He wasn't surprised that Santana had figured out the truth behind the baby secret before everyone else did. The girl put things together faster than that dude who held the record for solving a Rubik's cube. What had shocked him was how real the threat of Finn Hudson would be if Rachel ever found out. He never realized just how much his huge best friend still watched Rachel. Sure, he noticed them looking all lovey dovey during duets, but Rachel had explained that it was just an act to make sure the performance was sellable or some shit like that.

It irritated Puck when he realized just how much Rachel looked at Finn during songs, even if she did look at him more often. Then, of course, Finn practically sang directly to her, despite Quinn sitting right in front of him. Why the hell did his best friend get everything that he wanted, and Puck got whatever was left over?

He decided he was going to be someone's first where Finn was concerned. He was already closer to Rachel thanks to their study sessions and hookups. Santana and his mom were right. He needed to take it to the next level. He wouldn't lose this one good thing he had now to Finn.

So he did the only thing he could, he asked to make things official with Rachel. Her stalling and making him do a solo in front of everyone was pure torture, but deep down he knew it was going to be worth it in the end. Considering she let him reach up her shirt the night after he sang Sweet Caroline at glee, he knew he made the right choice.

"_Do you really think that was a good idea?" Quinn asked him the next day after their English class finished. Puck was thankful no one else that mattered shared their class. _

_He shrugged, "Why wouldn't it be?" he knew she was asking about singing to Rachel of course. _

_The blonde shook her head, "It's going to kill her when she finds out. It was bad enough that we're hiding this from Finn, but now Rachel too? Do you enjoy destroying everyone's lives Puckerman?" Tears started to spill out of her eyes and Puck shifted awkwardly. He hated crying girls. Stupid pregnancy hormones. _

"_Why the hell do you care what happens to her anyways. Last I checked you couldn't stand the sight of her," he mumbled, hoping Quinn would stop crying. It seriously freaked him out._

"_Maybe because she's the one person that hasn't judged me and my actions so far!" She snapped at Puck, a glare formed in place of her flowing tears. After a moment, she took a deep breath and seemed to soften. "She's not so horrible I guess. Once you get passed the incessant rambling and her ego the size of Texas anyways." _

_Puck tried not to think about the implications of Quinn's words about Rachel. "I still want to be a father to our baby." _

_Quinn laughed dryly, "You're really willing to give up Rachel and have her end up with Finn?" he didn't have the heart to answer. "Exactly. We both know that's exactly what will happen if they ever find out. So unless you want to ruin your happy little relationship with her, I suggest you keep your mouth shut and let Finn be her father." _

"_It's… a girl?" he practically whispered at Quinn's revelation._

_The blonde sighed, "See you later Puckerman." She left without taking a glance back at him._

Things had gotten extremely stressful from that conversation on. He knew all of his teachers planning tests at nearly the same time was a bad omen, and he was beyond right. It seemed like every day he was getting into fights with Finn either about Rachel or Quinn. It was easy to see that Finn was annoyed that he'd snagged Rachel, someone who Finn apparently thought was too good for anyone with a reputation like Puck's. Puck was pissed that the stupid golden boy thought he could have anything he wanted. He already had the one thing he himself wanted the most. Wasn't that more than enough?

He honestly didn't think his week could get any worse, so when he went to get his Spanish book from his locker only to find Santana leaned against it, nervously filing her nails, he knew he was wrong.

"_Code red, they know." She said quietly when he reached her. _

_Panic spread through Puck instantly, "Does Ra-"_

_She shook her head, her pony tail bouncing slightly. "I managed to convince them that if they tell Berry, she'll tell Finn and the club will explode into a hot mess. They don't want to risk anything so close to Sectionals." _

_He threw his math book a little too roughly into his locker. This was the last thing he needed to worry about. Despite Santana's reassurance, he knew the little gossipers wouldn't be able to keep it from Rachel's ears for very long, or even worse, Finn's. _

Puck was about to leave school that Friday, thankful to not have to be studying or playing football that night. He planned on grabbing Rachel from her locker and taking her to the park one last time before the weather got too cold. It had been awhile since they'd gone anywhere besides his house, and he felt like he deserved a break from anything stressful after his week of tests.

Something caught his eye though. Finn was heading into the choir room, which was just weird considering he liked leaving school the second he could if he had no after school activities. Curiosity getting the better of him, Puck followed.

He entered the room a minute or so after Finn had, just in time to hear, "Is it true then Quinn? IS IT?"

Puck froze in place. Quinn was crying, and several other glee members were surrounding her all in shock, watching Finn with fear.

Santana caught his gaze and grimaced. So Finn had found out. He watched as his baby momma nodded her head and lifted her eyes to meet his own. Finn turned around slowly and Puck automatically lifted his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry man."

A few seconds later Finn's fist met his face.

**AN: For those of you who will undoubtedly think that Santana is a little OOC this chapter and next, hold tight okay? There's a reason I'm making her that way, and I promise it'll make sense soon. Enjoy!**


	3. Secrets Revealed

Rachel had an ominous feeling looming over her head all day. It wasn't very often she felt like this, after all she was a very optimistic person most of the time. But she couldn't help notice how the glee members seemed to be crowding together between classes whispering urgently or the awkward smiles and feigned innocent looks they gave her whenever she came to close to them.

She tried to pretend she didn't notice anything because tonight she and Puck were having the closest thing they'd ever have to a date night. Despite the lack of luxurious restaurants and flowers that normal girls got on date nights, she had to admit she liked going to the park with him. It was one of the few places he was willing to let down his guard and just be… _Noah_ with her.

So smiling to herself she began walking towards his locker after school, figuring his last class must have ran late if he didn't meet her at her own locker. When she saw his mohawk disappear into the choir room when she turned into his hallway however, she was confused. Puck _never_ went into the choir room unless he absolutely had to for the glee club. With new determination, Rachel walked briskly towards the room, realizing that a gossip session must be going on with the amount of glee clubbers that were gathered.

The next moment she noticed Finn was running towards Puck, his fist at the ready. A gasp escaped her mouth as the taller boy began beating her boyfriend, pushing him down the floor. Panicking she looked around the room, paying closer attention. Puck wasn't fighting back, Quinn was sobbing, everyone else stood around Quinn with different expressions of shock.

Finn was yelling obscenities as Mike and Matt came back to reality and tried to separate the two, soon helped by Mr. Schue whom Santana seemed to have gotten out of his office. Rachel started to chastise Finn, but was stopped by Santana who put a hand over her mouth and shook her head, pulling her to the side of the room.

"What the heck is going on with you two?" Schue yelled at the two teen boys. Puck was wiping a bit of blood from his mouth, still on the ground, looking up at Finn who was held back by Matt and Mike.

The quarter back looked so furious that it actually scared Rachel to even be in the same room as him. "Ask him or Quinn. But then again maybe you shouldn't since all they do is lie to people!" he shouted as he shook his fellow football players off and stormed out the door.

The room rang with silence sans Quinn's sobbing as Mr. Schue looked around silently asking for questions. Questions Rachel wanted answered as well. "N-Noah..?" she was surprised when her voice quivered, she hadn't realized that she was actually shaking or that Santana was practically hugging her. What in the world was going on?

Her boyfriend didn't answer, sitting up still wiping blood from his mouth and nose. She looked around to her friends for answers, but none of them would meet her gaze. Slowly Rachel started piecing together everything she'd seen and heard. Finn yelling at them both for being liars, Quinn bawling, Puck actually letting Finn beat him up. Smaller things started coming to mind like how she would see him with Quinn talking in hushed voices, seemingly angry most times, how they'd stop and pretend to be finished talking the moment they saw her. How Puck always seemed so protective over Quinn after finding out she was pregnant.

Her chin quivered and tears blinded her vision. "P-please tell me it's not what I think it is…."

Mr. Schue's confused voice spoke up, "Will someone please explain?"

"Puck's the father!" Quinn bit out between her sobs.

He lied. She lied. Rachel pushed off from Santana and ran out the door wanting to get as far from the room as possible. She thought she heard Puck say something that sounded a lot like "Of course go right to fucking Finn." But she didn't care anymore, she just wanted away.

All those days they had spent together. She and Puck becoming exclusive after weeks of making out after his sister went to sleep. Puck singing Sweet Caroline to her to prove his 'bad assness'. Quinn talking to her on several occasions, even seeming to help her. All of it was a big fat lie.

Only once she reached the exit of the school did she let the first tear fall down her cheek. She thought she was special where Puck was concerned. The past month or so, he had started opening up to her, telling her things he mentioned that he never told anyone else before. But all of it didn't matter anymore, because he never told her the most important part of his life.

That he and Quinn were lying and having a baby together. Quinn, the perfect blond, (former) head cheerleader. Prettiest girl in the entire school, maybe even all of Ohio. _God,_ Rachel thought_, I must look_ _like some huge joke to Quinn now._ Quinn was probably enjoying the fact that Rachel oh so willingly fell right into Puck's arms, knowing that she would always come first to Puck because of their baby.

Rachel wanted to throw up and was suddenly cursing her nonexistent gag reflexes. Why did Quinn always get _everything_ that Rachel wanted? Quinn had the popularity, all of the boys, everyone loving her, the perfect facial structure, just everything. Part of Rachel's mind screamed at her that she didn't want a baby though.

No, she certainly didn't want a baby, but now the blond had a permanent hold and place in Pucks life. No matter how much either of them didn't want to be parents, they now had that bond that would last a life time. There would always be a little Puckerman-Fabray out there, and there was nothing that Rachel could do about it.

"You didn't know either then?" a husky voice came from the side walk and Rachel looked to see Finn sitting on the side walk, throwing little pebbles across the parking lot. "I thought you would've known, since you're so close to Puckerman."

_Puckerman_. Finn never called Puck by his full last name. "No, I had no idea."

"You were right you know. About the kisses meaning something. I was scared to leave Quinn because of the baby." Finn snorted and the stone he threw now hit the truck belonging to Puck. "I'm such an idiot."

Rachel shook her head, "I don't think either of us could have seen this coming Finn." She brushed a tear away, trying to mask the movement with pushing hair behind her ear.

"He doesn't deserve you." The quarterback spit out as he stood, turning to face Rachel. She gulped, forcing the tears that wanted to escape to dissipate.

"I- I don't know what you mean." She stuttered. Although Puck had called himself her boyfriend on several occasions lately, he'd made it fairly clear that he didn't really want anyone else to know. Rachel had figured that their relationship would harm his popularity status, so despite not exactly liking the situation, she followed his lead with keeping it hush-hush. Of course it was easy to tell that a few members had caught on such as Quinn and Santana, but she never thought Finn would have noticed.

Finn sighed heavily before speaking, "You use to be like… all over me. Talking to me in the hall way, asking to practice duets all the time… But now you do that with Puck. Plus when he sang that love song thing, he was staring at you the whole time." He watched her closely, his eyes practically begging her to say he was wrong.

Rachel merely hung her head. If Finn was observant enough to put two and two together, everyone else most likely knew too. What did it matter now though? How could she possibly look at Puck now without feeling betrayed and wondering what else he'd lied about? She felt the tears start to come back.

"I should go call daddy and see if he can pick me up." She muttered, but Finn's hand reached out and pulled her back towards him, enveloping her in a hug. Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged tightly back. Both of them needed the comfort right now, and though Rachel's mind was screaming that this was wrong on so many levels, she didn't let go until the schools doors opened.

"Unless you two want another Jerry showdown tonight, I suggest taking this elsewhere." Rachel slid out from Finn's grasp to see Kurt blocking the door way, looking sympathetic. She suddenly felt ten times worse about everything that had just happened and refused to look back at Finn again.

"Right, bye guys." She heard Finn say accompanied with footsteps and she turned to watch him walk towards a tiny beat up car that must be his. The motor turned on and he was speeding out of the parking lot when the doors opened again to reveal Quinn walking with Santana and Brittany.

Rachel shifted awkwardly, realizing she either needed to go back in the school to use the office phone or walk home. There was no way she could possibly ride home with Puck now and she'd forgotten her cell phone at home today.

Seeing Quinn looking at her with red rimmed eyes, the blond opened her mouth to say something. Rachel turned around, pulling the handle out of her trolley, deciding that the three mile walk sounded lovely tonight. Anything would be better than listening to more lies and fake niceties.

Much to her surprise though, a hand grabbed her handle from her and began pulling it in the direction of the parking lot. Kurt was pulling it towards his car that his father had recently let him have again. Sighing, Rachel trailed after him, "You don't have to do this you know." It wasn't exactly a secret that Kurt wasn't her biggest fan in the club.

"I know, but it would be incredibly horrible of me to let you walk all the way home this late in the day. It'll be sunset soon." She decided not to protest even though the sun wouldn't be setting for another two hours, plenty of time in which to walk home. Right now wasn't exactly a good time to be turning away a kind gesture.

From the corner of her eye she couldn't help but see Santana and Brittany help Quinn into a shiny red car as the front doors to the school opened again. When she climbed into Kurts car she couldn't help but notice Puck staring in her direction, holding ice with a look of disdain to his swollen jaw. She closed her eyes and looked away, telling herself that she couldn't cry anymore. "I should have warned you." Kurt sighed after he buckled his seat belt.

"Excuse me?" she fought to keep her voice calm. How long had everyone known that Puck was the father? "Did everyone know about this the entire time?" she whispered more to herself. Kurt heard.

"No, but I had my suspicions. Puck has been far too protective over Quinn since finding out about her being knocked up. Besides I heard Finn talking about how it happened in a hot tub _while_ they still had their swim suits on. It wasn't too difficult to put two and two together." He said this all very quickly as he pulled out of the schools parking lot and began driving towards Rachel's house. "I don't think anyone else was aware until Santana let it slip last night after glee practice."

Rachel sighed and slipped lower in her seat, "I guess that explains why everyone was avoiding me today."

Kurt frowned, "I really am sorry Rachel." And although the two had never really been friends, what with all the competition and sarcasm that Kurt normally threw at her, Rachel believed him.

"It's not your fault Kurt; you weren't the one that knocked Quinn up." She replied, making him laugh.

"So what is Miss Berry's next move? Go after the hurt Finn Hudson?" he wagged his eyebrows at her as he pulled into her drive way. Rachel didn't question it when he unbuckled himself and began getting out of the car. Her dads would be excited about her having company over for once.

As she got out of the car she contemplated her answer. "No, I think that'd be a disastrous idea all things considered. Noah might not have retaliated against Finn's actions today, but I don't need to give him a reason to do so. I'm sure Finn being close to me in a romantic manner would be the last straw for him." She frowned at the thought as she entered her house, letting Kurt in as well.

"Ah, Rachel dear, could you come here a minute?" a voice called from the kitchen. With a glance to Kurt who held a hand forward in a gesture for her to go ahead, she walked over to the kitchen.

"Yes daddy?" as she turned the corner she had to laugh at the sight waiting for her. Her father was covered in flour as he attempted to bake cookies. "Daddy, I thought we agreed to only let dad bake?"

The short man sighed with a nod of defeat, "I just wanted to surprise you sweetie! I'll go grab some take out and frozen yoghurt okay?" Rachel agreed and told him she and Kurt would clean up the mess for him.

After her father left the house, Rachel pulled out the cleaning supplies. Kurt threw the disturbing mixture her father had made in the waste basket. "Ugh, theres even egg shells in it." He exclaimed as he wrinkled his nose.

"Daddy might be a perfectionist with cleaning and balancing the check book… but cooking…" she gestured to the mess in front of her as she began scrubbing the covered counter.

The two lapsed into an awkward silence as they cleaned the kitchen. After a few minutes Rachel couldn't help asking, "Did everyone know about N-Puck and I?" in a soft voice.

Kurt contemplated her question a moment before answering. "No I don't think so, not until today in the choir room anyways. Santana and Quinn seemed to have caught on. Finn might have noticed but that's only because the boy watches you like you're a ticking time bomb." He laughed.

"Did you know?" she looked up at the fashion loving boy.

He hummed. "Not really. I thought it was bizarre that the boy who single handedly made our lives hell last year and this year hanging around you so much was weird but," he shrugged. "You both were so adamant about the fact that you were tutoring him that I didn't think about it."

Rachel wiped the last of the egg yolk off the cupboard and sighed. "What do I do now Kurt?" she whispered.

"You can worry about that later Miss Berry, for tonight we're having a little sleep over. I was thinking we could invite Tina over?" he suggested as he began to wash his hands, very mindful not to get his shirt wet.

"I don't know Kurt… I'm not exactly in the mood for a get together tonight. Perhaps another ti-"

"Rachel Berry, right now you need friends to take your mind off things. And no offense but from where I'm standing, I doubt you have any other offers. Trust me when I tell you that you don't want to sit at home all weekend moping as you watch every sad movie known to woman-kind."

As much as she wanted to, Rachel couldn't dispute what he was saying. So against her better judgment she allowed him to text Tina while she called her father to inform him they'd be having two guests staying the night tonight.

Kurt left then with the promise to come back with Tina and a change of clothes and Rachel let him go reluctantly. She decided she might as well get her bedroom ready with sleeping bags and more pillows. Not even ten minutes later, the doorbell rang and Rachel stared quizzically in the direction of the stairs before rushing down them. Kurt couldn't possibly be back yet; Tina's house was a ten minute drive away alone.

Without checking the peephole, she opened the door wide and gasped. Standing on her porch was Puck, looking more nervous than she had ever seen him. His hands were deep in his front pockets and his shoulders hunched over. The blood had been cleaned from his face but the swelling of his lip was very obvious now. Rachel felt as if the air had been knocked from her lungs.

"Rach… I can explain." His words were a little lisped from his lip.

Try as she might, she couldn't manage to get any words out, so she shook her head and began to shut her door. His hand shot out and held the door open. "Please, just five minutes that's all I'm asking." Her eyes locked with his bright green ones and Rachel felt her heart break a little. Puck looked so vulnerable, so unsure of himself. The only other time she'd ever seen him like this was when he was talking about his father. She let go of the door, but didn't move to let him inside.

He nodded, understanding that this was the best he would get for now. "I should have told you… I know that… But Quinn, she didn't want anyone to know. Hell she didn't even want me to know. She doesn't want me in her life or the kids life Rach."

"Noah Puckerman, that doesn't give you the excuse not to inform me about such a vital part of your life. After everything else you've trusted me to keep private, how could you not tell me about this? Or Finn for that matter! He's supposed to be your _best friend_ Noah." She practically screamed at him.

He hung his head again, "It's not like I wanted to keep this shit from you Rach, it wasn't my choice." He muttered something else under his breath but Rachel didn't catch it.

"And that makes it okay?" she blinked several times, trying to stop her eyes from forming the tears she could feel starting.

Warm arms suddenly enveloped her in a hug. "I'm so, so sorry baby." He whispered in her ear. She inhaled deeply smelling smoke and pine. He must have gone to get a pack of cigarettes after the debacle.

"No more smoking after you're done with that pack Noah." She murmured, making him chuckle. She was very far from forgiving him, but it wouldn't do any good to continue yelling at him right now. Kurt was right, she needed to clear her head and decide what to do next. "You should leave." She said as she pushed his chest away from her.

Puck frowned deeply, "Are we okay?" he asked hopefully, the look in eyes pleading.

Rachel sighed, "I don't know." And closed the door on his crushed face before leaning against the wooden door. He didn't try to get in the house and after a minute she heard the loud roar of his truck as he pulled away from her house. Never had she thought she'd be in such a situation like this. Was it really possible that her heart could be breaking right now because of Noah Puckerman?

Nearly an hour later, the door bell rang again, Kurt and Tina having finally arrived. Rachel had gone to shower and put on happier music, determined to pretend that Puck had never shown up after Kurt left.

The three of them pigged out on the Thai takeout her father had gotten along with health conscious snacks Kurt had thought to pick up while watching several funny movies and singing karaoke. It wasn't until they'd settled down to get ready for bed that the subject moved back to glee club.

"D-do you think Finn will c-come to Sectionals with us?" Tina asked as she washed her face.

Rachel froze in place and glanced at Kurt who was frowning. She hadn't considered the possibility that Finn would quit the club over this, but now thinking about it, it would make sense. "Probably not…" Kurt admitted and Rachel felt herself deflate.

Kurt left the bathroom having put his facial cream in place and claiming it needed to be on another ten minutes before washing it off. A minute after he left he rushed back into Rachel's bathroom where she and Tina were brushing their teeth. "What in the world is this Rachel Berry?" he snapped holding an opened letter in the air.

Her eyes widened and she tried to grab it with her free hand, but he pulled it from her reach. "When were you planning on informing us about your defection to Vocal Adrenaline?"

Rachel quickly spit her toothpaste out, "I wasn't planning on accepting the invitation obviously. I received the letter over a month ago Kurt."

He checked the letter for the date, not trusting her. "Why haven't you thrown it out then?" he accused.

"Dad told me to keep my options open." She shrugged as she rinsed her tooth brush off. "Can we drop the subject please?" she pleaded as she climbed into her sleeping bag, feeling it was bad manners to sleep on her bed while Tina and Kurt were stuck on the floor.

Tina joined her after pulling her hair into a mess bun. "R-Rachel, we can't lose you to Vocal Adrenaline. We'd n-never have a chance at Regional's without you."

"Can we focus on the _real_ problem here? What are we going to do if Finn leaves glee?" Rachel blurted out, wanting them to forget about Vocal Adrenaline.

"M-maybe we could get a new member?" Tina offered.

Kurt came back from the bathroom, his face spotless, "Please, who could possibly learn all of the songs and steps within a week?"

"What else can we do at this point Kurt?" Rachel snapped. She didn't want her dreams to be ruined over something so stupid.

She watched as he seemed to bite the inside of his cheek, sliding into his sleeping bag. "You have to talk to him Rachel."

Her stomach dropped; somehow she knew he would say that. Her dreams that night involved Puck kissing Quinn who was grinning victoriously at her. Finn kept trying to tell her that they should run away to Vocal Adrenaline together and put them in their place. All the while Kurt and Tina were trying to get her to put on a new face mask they'd created out of cookie batter.

She_ really_ shouldn't have eaten so much sugar before bed.

**AN: I wanted to upload this Friday, but things have been rather crazy. I ended up having one of my wisdom teeth get infected and had to go to the dentist last week, and next month its getting removed. I've been in massive pain and just ugh. I'm hoping to have another chapter or two posted before my tooth removal, cause I doubt I'll feel much like writing after that. **

**Anyways I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. C: I actually really liked writing this one!**


	4. Sectionals

Everything happened so quickly after the first punch was thrown that Puck didn't have time to grasp it all. Before he could begin defending himself, Finn was already being pulled off of him, but he could already feel the blood pooling in his mouth. The tall quarterback started screaming at Schuester before storming out of the choir room. It was then that Puck heard the last voice he wanted to hear at a time like this. Rachel sounded so broken and hurt. As he moved his jaw around to ascertain that nothing was broken, he looked up at Quinn, whose eyes seemed to be saying 'I told you so'. A moment later, the blond admitted to their affair in front of anyone, and Puck heard Rachel sob before leaving the room, taking the last shred of hope he had with her.

"Of course, go right to fucking Finn." He bit out as she left, and he knew she would too. Part of him wondered if Quinn hadn't told everyone that Finn was the father before Puck found out about the baby, would Rachel still want Finn. It had been obvious to everyone in the club that Rachel was after Finn's heart from the moment glee club started. Now what would happen?

All Puck could do was glare at Quinn as everyone around him started moving into action. Brittany and Santana rushed to Quinn's side to hug and soothe her, and Mr. Schue attempted to ask Puck if he was okay. He barely nodded at his teacher as he watched Kurt and Tina leave the choir room, their heads bent together in whispered conversation.

It was all too much. "Why the fuck would you tell him?" he snapped at Quinn. No one else knew about the baby, and although he did want to have his rightful place as the child's father, a little warning would have been better.

She laughed bitterly, "You really think I'd be that stupid Puck? I was the one who wanted him to be the father, remember?"

Logically, Puck knew this. But who else knew the truth about the baby? His eyes moved slightly to the right to see Santana shifting awkwardly, refusing to look anyone in the face. That's when he remembered. Santana had figured out their secret on her own _weeks_ ago. "You?" he snarled at her, making her flinch.

"It's not like I meant to do it, okay? Lady Lips was rambling on about how weird a baby made by you and Quinn would be. I might have accidently said something that made him realize who actually knocked her up." She shrugged.

"I thought I could trust you!" he hissed at her, low enough so only Quinn and Brittany could eavesdrop.

Santana scoffed, "You _can_ trust me you idiot. I fucked up and said something I shouldn't have. The truth would have come out eventually you know."

"Not like this." He muttered as someone offered him some ice. Reluctantly, he accepted it and brought it up to his swelling jaw. He'd have massive bruises tomorrow. Thankfully, it was the weekend now, and for the first time this school year he wouldn't have football practice.

"Chill with the drama Puck, at least we were all together for this. Rachel will be fine." Santana's patronizing tone did nothing to calm Puck's nerves.

"Since when have you given two shits about Rachel, Lopez? Last I heard you were plotting with Sue to tear her down. So leave her the fuck out of this." He snarled before heading towards the door where Brittany was guiding Quinn out of.

Santana seemed to have other ideas as she pulled him back into the room, allowing everyone else to leave them alone in the choir room. "There's a hell of a lot about me that you don't understand Puckerman, but let's get one thing straight right now. I may be one of Sue's moles, but there's a reason that despite her shit, the clubs still standing. Do you really think any of us would come to this stupid thing if I really wanted to tear us apart?" she crossed her arms, letting him think this over.

Puck guffawed, "Okay so sure, you haven't ripped the glee club to shreds. Whoop-de-fuckin-do." He twirled his finger in the air in mock celebration. "But that doesn't mean you haven't done more shit to Rach than you should, so leave her the fuck alone."

He watched as her jaw twitched, "When was the last time I messed with Berry's life?" she challenged.

It took him a moment to realize that it had been weeks, possibly even more, before he sang Sweet Caroline, that Santana had done or said anything dealing with Rachel. But that didn't mean the girl hadn't been doing things behind his back. "Just leave her alone," he insisted before walking around her and storming out in the hall way.

"Fuck you then Puckerman, I'll stop trying to help you." He heard her call from behind him as he made his way back to his locker, deciding to pick up a few things before heading out to his truck. By now, Rachel was probably gone; Finn would be too willing to give her a ride right now. Puck slammed his locker shut with a bit too much force before heading towards the parking lot. He had no idea what to do now, but one thing was for sure, he needed a pack of cigarettes badly, maybe even a beer if he could manage it.

On his way out, he passed a few of the glee club members who were gathering things from their locker, but avoided their eyes. He really didn't want to talk to any of them right now. When he stepped outside he froze. Kurt was just turning on his car and the passenger door was open, and climbing in was… Rachel. So she hadn't decided to leave with Finn after all. The ice he was holding to his jaw seemed about ten degrees colder as he noticed how completely devastated Rachel looked. Even when she caught his eye she looked away faster than he could even blink. As he watched Kurt pull out of the school lot he started to feel like maybe he lost Rachel forever. Maybe Quinn was right, and they shouldn't have told anyone about their baby girl.

From the corner of his eye, he saw movement and looked to see Brittany taking Quinn's bag as she lowered herself into Santana's passenger seat. Seeing the small bump of her stomach he felt his heart jolt. No, they were better off having everyone know. He wouldn't be like his dad, he refused not to acknowledge that the child in Quinn was his baby. With that resolve setting in, he walked to Santana's car as the Latina put her seat back, preparing to get in.

Puck walked right up to the passenger side and sighed; "Q, your parents kicked you out right?" he didn't like what he was about to do, but Finn would never let Quinn stay at his house now.

The blonde nodded, brushing tears from her cheeks. "We'll tell my mom this weekend, and you can start moving in. We don't have any extra rooms, and my mom probably won't let you stay in mine but… Our basements pretty nice." He offered.

Quinn seemed to take a deep breath, "I'll pack tonight and stay at Brittany's for the night. We can tell your mom tomorrow and I'll move in." she nodded to Santana, a sign that it was time to leave. The Latina threw one last glare at Puck before pulling out and speeding away.

Puck wasn't particularly pleased at the way Quinn decided everything just then, but he figured she needed to feel in control of something after going from top of the world to the bottom. He'd let her have this one thing.

Nearly an hour later, Puck found himself outside the familiar house of Rachel Berry. There were no cars in the driveway, so he figured that her parents were working late again tonight. He also assumed that Kurt only dropped her off before heading home himself. The two had never been particularly close before, so he guessed there wasn't any real reason for Kurt to stick around.

He wasn't sure what he was going to say to Rachel to make this mess seem okay. The fact that he had the smell of cigarettes all over him now wouldn't help his case. Rachel hated when he touched the things, or alcohol for that matter, but right now he needed something to calm his nerves.

She didn't want to talk to him, that much was obvious the moment she opened the door. She looked at him in a broken way like she always did after someone had slushied her. It made him feel like shit, but he wasn't about to let her close him out of her life when she tried to shut the door on him. Puck tried his best to explain things, but Rachel wasn't having it.

"It's not like I wanted to keep this shit from you Rach, it wasn't my choice." He finally snapped, adding, "If it were my choice, Quinn wouldn't be having my baby." Under his breath so quietly he was sure she didn't hear. He knew that wasn't fair, it'd been his mistake not to use a condom.

"And that makes it okay?" Rachel asked, her voice choking up a bit. Puck looked at her closely then and noticed how tears were forming in her eyes. Without thinking twice, he pulled her into a hug, not being able to stand the hurt that he was causing her.

He apologized sincerely, to which she just commented on how he wasn't allowed to smoke again after he was done with the pack he bought today. A chuckle broke free then, because he'd expected her to say something like that. It was a relief to know that she could still act like her normal self around him to some extent despite everything that happened today.

But a moment later, she was telling him he needed to leave and that she wasn't sure if they'd be okay… What did that mean? Were they over now? As the thick wooden door closed the space between them, creating an actual wall separating them, Puck felt suddenly hopeless. He should have known that it would take more than a hug and a weak reprimanding from Rachel for things to go back to normal.

Knowing that she wouldn't want to be bothered more than he already had done today, he ran his hair through his mohawk, tugging it slightly before stomping off to his truck. There was still a lot of work to do before Quinn showed up tomorrow. He knew that Quinn would end up having to stay in their basement, and the last time he'd been in there it wasn't exactly the best place to be in.

So for the rest of the night, he diligently cleaned the mess that his mom referred to as their basement. He packing boxes that had been opened and strewn around, dusted creepy (yet kind of cool) looking cobwebs, and vacuumed. Somehow he even managed to get Abi to help out (at least after the cobwebs were all taken down). Part of him realized it was probably because he was letting her stay up past her bedtime, which their mom would probably be pissed about if she ever found out, but whatever.

What surprised him was how his little sister was singing along so easily to his classic rock CDs he had playing, and she actually didn't sound horrible. Sure, she was only 10, so her voice wasn't fully developed yet, but he could totally tell his sister got the singing genes in the family too. While stacking boxes in the corner, he watched Abi singing into the vacuum, and wondered if maybe Rachel would give his sister lessons. He was sure that Abi would love it.

By eleven, Abi was crashed on the (still slightly dusty) couch in the basement. The large room looked a hundred times better than it had a few hours ago, he had to admit. It was still nothing like the room Quinn had at home, but it would have to do for now.

Puck was just about to pick his sister up and carry her into her room, when the song changed on his multi-cd stereo and made him freeze. _Sweet Caroline _filled the room, and he felt his chest tighten. So much in his life had changed since he and Rachel had grown close. No one had ever really tried to understand Puck on an emotional level like Rachel had. She knew things about him and his family that even Finn never knew. Not that Finn ever really cared to know all that much anyways.

And sure, sometimes when she would over analyze things that he'd told her, she'd be way off or so creepily close that he didn't want to talk for the rest of the night. But the thing was, he could always tell that she genuinely cared. Most times it felt like Rachel was the only one who honestly cared, besides his mom and sometimes Abi.

How was he supposed to convince her that Quinn wasn't the woman he wanted now? That him not telling her about the baby wasn't really a big deal. He sighed, suddenly feeling extremely tired, picked Abi up, flicking the switch for the power in the basement off with his pinky, and put her in her own bed before crashing in his own. Tomorrow would be an even longer day.

The rest of the weekend couldn't have been more dramatic. Puck's mom spent the entire time she was home crying about how her baby boys life was over before it even begun. It didn't really help when she'd sob out that he could have at least gotten Rachel pregnant instead so that her grandchild would be a pure Jew. That comment didn't fly too well with Quinn, who ended up shouting about how she didn't really want the baby's father to be Puck anyways.

Quinn wasn't happy about having to live in a basement, especially one that wasn't nearly as well decorated as Finn's was. That argument somehow led into them into fighting about how it was Pucks fault that Finn would no doubt quit glee now, leaving them without any hope at Sectionals. When he tried to explain that it was technically Santana's fault, Quinn started screaming about how she would have never figured it out if he denied it when she brought it up.

It was going to be a long year.

Puck honestly thought things couldn't have gone worse. He was very, very wrong.

The entire week at school, Rachel barely spoke to him, only looking at him and speaking to him when it concerned their numbers for Sectionals. Mr. Schuester had gotten himself banned from the competition because of the commercial they did the week before. So now they had no leading man and no teacher. Well unless you counted Ms. Pillsbury. Puck didn't.

They had to convince the Jewfro to fill in for Finn as their twelfth member just to be able to go to Sectionals at all. The little freak kept hanging all over Rachel commenting on how now that she was free of the only other male Jew in the school, how they should hook up. If it weren't for the fact that Quinn would glare at Puck every time he moved towards Rachel, he totally would have punched the lights out of the little creep.

Puck really thought they'd hit the low point by then. They were all at their worst, with all the stress and confusion, and being without one of their stars. The only saving grace they had was the fact that their competition weren't as good as they were. They could still win this thing. And maybe Rachel was right, that going last was the best for them. All the judges would be able to think about was Mercedes' rockin' solo and Rachel's crazy good voice.

But then the performances started. Someone had leaked the set list. Now if they performed any of their songs they'd look completely stupid. Puck sent a glare at Santana, who seemed to have the most reasons to leak the set list to Sylvester. But it was then that he realized the Latino looked just as horrified as the rest of the club. So maybe she didn't leak it. Either way they were royally screwed.

Rachel went into action straight away like the hot Jew she is. After a conference in the green room it was decided that Rachel would sing the ballad and we'd close with Somebody To Love. That left an entire song open, and at this rate we wouldn't be able to pull all the selections in time for the performance.

It was then that our saving grace came in the form of Finn Hudson. He wouldn't even look at Quinn or Puck, but he was there and he had a song for them to do. That's all that mattered. Puck tried to tell himself that it didn't matter how Finn was attached to Rachel's hip now, or how she held his hand while they practiced the song Finn had brought once over. He tried to convince himself that the way Rachel and Finn looked at each other during their performances didn't matter either. Just because Finn was single now and could pursue Rachel didn't mean he would, right?

After they completely rocked their performance, the next half an hour was a huge blur. They found the door labeled 'judges' and Artie brought a glass out to listen to what they were saying. Apparently things didn't look good for them. But how could it not? Did they not hear Rachel singing? Puck seriously doubted whether many glee clubs could perform so epically on the fly like that. They should have been awarded with some special trophy for that shit.

But it turned out they'd won anyways. And although none of them said it out loud, it was easy to tell that everyone was relieved that glee club wasn't over yet. Winning this award meant that they'd beaten Sylvester again and would be heading to Regionals. In Puck's opinion, they were all pretty badass.

If he thought that he could somehow win Rachel over now that they'd all conquered Sectionals though, he was wrong. When he went to go hug her backstage while they were all celebrating, he couldn't find her at first. Then looking harder around the expansive room, he saw her near the door with some guy who had curly hair and a grin that Puck instantly wanted to punch off his face.

He watched as the strange guy made Rachel laugh, a blush appearing on her cheeks as she pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. Something that Puck had been making Rachel do last week while flirting with her. His jaw clenched, and moved to go break up their little party when a hand pulled him back.

"His name is Jesse St. James. He's the male lead in Vocal Adrenaline." Puck looked down to see Kurt watching the duo with slightly narrowed eyes. So Kurt didn't like this guy talking to Rachel either. "From what I've heard he's practically a replica of Rachel only in male form."

Puck winced; he didn't want to think about his sort-of girl friend in male form. Gross.

"What I don't understand though, is why they would reach such low levels in order to get her to join Vocal Adrenaline. Sending Jesse here is almost as intense as offering her a small part on Broadway." The smaller male rambled on, seemingly to himself.

"What do you mean 'to get her to join Vocal Adrenaline'? Rachel would never join that stuck up crowd." Puck bit out. Rachel never mentioned anything about considering leaving McKinley, so he figured there was no truth behind what Kurt was saying.

However, the shorter boy looked up at Puck then with confused eyes, "Rachel never told you about the invitation she received weeks ago asking her to switch schools? She's gotten two more this last week alone, but she's assured me she has no intentions of leaving."

Puck started to walk towards them again but Kurt pulled him back. "Do you honestly think that's the best move for you right now Puck? She's still livid and hurt, if you're the one to tell her to stay at McKinley she'll be even more likely to ditch us all like the Lima Losers we're bound to end up being without her. Let the people who understand her deal with this." And with a glare, Kurt went ahead and started walking towards Rachel, whose phone was in Jesse's hand. Puck thought he saw Jesse say "Text me" before leaving out the door. Kurt wasn't fast enough to stop this interaction, and with a huff Puck stalked off to the other side of the room where Quinn was calling for him.

He had a bad feeling about the Jesse St. James guy.

**AN: Thanks so much everyone for the Alerts, Favs, and Reviews c: Each e-mail I get concerning this story makes me incredibly happy. I hope you're all enjoying it thus far! I'm really really excited about the next chapter, and already have it started! x**


	5. Decisions

Jesse St. James wanted her to text him. _The Jesse St. James._ Rachel had to ask Kurt to pinch her when he'd come over to ask what Jesse was doing there. When Kurt pinched her hard enough to make her squeak, Rachel had been forced to accept the fact that she wasn't dreaming. But God, could anyone blame her? Jesse St. James was a god among show choir. He was the reason that Vocal Adrenaline was the best glee club in the nation. Part of her was even too scared to actually send him a text at any point, what if he'd given her a fake number? Or wanted to prank her? What could someone like him want with someone like_ her_?

"So are you going to text the oh-so handsome Jesse St. James?" Kurt questioned her teasingly.

Rachel frowned and flipped her phone around in her hand as they walked towards the dressing rooms with the rest of their club. "Should I?" she'd never really made the first move on a guy before, other than Finn, and that had ended horribly.

Kurt slid his arm around hers as he replied, "Well that- is up to you. Personally, I wouldn't have been able to wait five minutes before sending him a text. But maybe it'd be good to make him wait awhile. Don't want to seem like you're so easy to get." He said knowingly. Rachel nodded, remembering how put off Finn had been when she'd tried to be sexy for him. And Puck seemed to like it when she didn't give everything up to him right away too.

She put her cell back into her bag as she entered the changing rooms, deciding she wouldn't text him until tomorrow. Or maybe later tonight. But definitely not for at least an hour or two.

Rachel's thoughts were so mixed from the high of winning the competition even with having to perform last minute songs and having Jesse talk to her, that all of her problems from the past week or so had faded from her mind temporarily. That is until someone sat beside her on the bus on the way home. With an exasperated sigh, she turned, fully prepared to give Jacob a long speech about why she didn't want to be in a relationship of any kind with him – ever.

"Please leave me a—" she stopped mid sentence as she came face to face with Noah Puckerman for the first time in days. Suddenly all the pain and confusion she'd been feeling came flooding back as she looked into his green-brown eyes. "Oh, hello Noah." She managed to say before looking back out the window. She knew she should have insisted on sitting with the trophy. There was no way she wanted to deal with this situation right now. Wasn't she allowed just one day of happiness?

"I just wanted to say you totally kicked ass out there today. Like seriously, I don't know anyone else that could have gone out there and done that on the fly like that." He rambled out, tugging on a rip at the knee of his jeans. A nervous habit Rachel had noticed a few weeks ago.

"Thank you Noah, that's very kind of you." She replied, focusing again on the passing trees outside her window.

She heard a heavy sigh come from Pucks direction but chose to ignore it. There was no way she could tell him what she knew he really wanted to hear. That now everything would go back to the way they'd been before she found out of about his baby. _His baby_. The thought of those words made her glance in Quinn's direction. The blond was sitting with Santana, and they both looked to be excited and happy about the win at Sectionals.

Rachel felt him shift in the seat before speaking again, "You know, I have a test in Algebra on Tuesday… I could really use some help, maybe after sch—"

"As concerned as I am about your academics, especially math, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to be showing up at your house after school especially with Quinn and Abi there. I don't want Abi to be getting the impression that it's okay for you to have two girlfriends, in case she ever comes into the situation where a boy tries to tell her that he wants to have another girlfriend along with her." She said this all very quickly, barely taking a breath in the middle of it, before looking at Puck. "Besides, Quinn's math knowledge is more than adequate to help you study and pass your Algebra test without a problem."

Pucks face fell and he seemed to sink lower in the seat, "I guess you're right but… Quinn's not my girlfriend."

Rachel laughed. "Noah, carrying her books between classes and kissing her as she enters her classroom are all very boyfriend-like things to be doing for a girl. She's carrying your child and lives in your home. In that situation it's nearly impossible to remain apart. Especially since I'm fairly certain you still care for Quinn and not just because she's the mother of your unborn child." She watched his face carefully, almost hoping that he would deny it. His frown deepened however, and he seemed unable to say anything.

"I still care about you more." He insisted after a moment. But Rachel had watched him constantly talking to Quinn in hushed voices since he found out she was pregnant. She'd realized the real reason that he wanted to raise his grades after finding out he was the father. She watched as every day he did everything he could to help Quinn.

She wanted to cry. "I want to believe that Noah, really I do. And maybe if Quinn wasn't having your child I would believe that. But we can't change how things are. Now can I please get out? My dads are here."

Puck obviously hadn't noticed that they were already at the school; he looked around startled at their fellow glee members leaving the bus. He got up and let her get out ahead of him, but just as she was about to start down the steps he stopped her.

"Look I know everything is all fucked up right now, and you already have guys lining up to be with you next, but Rach, even if Quinn is having my baby, it won't stop me from lo-caring about you as much as I do." For a moment Rachel had been terrified that he might tell her he loved her. She'd never had a guy tell her that before and she certainly didn't want him to say that in this situation.

When Rachel didn't respond he continued, "I know it'll be weird being together with Quinn around, and you might have some trust issues and maybe even get jealous, which might be kinda hot… But I want to try. Please?"

"Despite your derogatory comment, I'll consider it. But I really do need to go now; daddy doesn't like to be kept waiting too long." Puck let her go then, and Rachel was thankful. She really needed some serious space to take in everything that had happened today.

Later that night Rachel found herself sitting under the covers of her bed, glancing at her clock. It was only 9 pm, but she had to get up early in the morning for her family's weekly breakfast (something daddy insisted would make them all much closer as a family) so she knew she should get some sleep soon. The day had been very long and tiring, so she didn't feel upset about having to sleep early on a weekend for once.

But instead of succumbing to dream land like she ought to be doing, Rachel kept staring at her pink cell phone debating with herself. Jesse would likely still be awake, as no other high school student she knew went to bed this early. Kurt had been right about having to make the dreamy singer wait for her to text him… but Rachel so desperately needed a distraction from her Puck drama.

He had sent her an IM after she'd gotten home and got online with the intentions of posting a status update about their win at Sections on myspace.

**Puckerman69:** can we talk?

**Golden_stars:** I'm a little busy at the moment Noah.

**Puckerman69:** r u posting another vid?

**Golden_stars:** Not tonight, I don't want to strain my voice before Regionals.

**Puckerman69:** right good idea.

**Golden_stars:** I thought so. Anyways, I should go… Dad just ordered some Chinese, they want to celebrate by watching RENT.

**Puckerman69:** o… ok. i'll see you monday right?

**Golden_stars:** I do have a perfect attendance record to uphold.

And then she signed off without saying goodbye. What hadn't he understood about her needing time to think things over? Granted, she'd tried to think about Puck as little as possible since leaving the bus, but still. This situation wasn't exactly something she could come to terms with over night. Being his girlfriend while he lived with the mother of his baby? Especially when the mother is Quinn Fabray of all people, the most beautiful girl in the school. Rachel couldn't compete with that. There was no way she could hope for Puck to remain faithful to her under those circumstances. That wasn't too horrible of her was it?

These thoughts seemed to make up her mind as she grabbed her cell phone off her bedside table. Logically she knew if she texted Jesse she would likely be up for another hour or two, depending on if he responded or not… But if she eventually wanted to be on Broadway she'd have to get used to late nights and early mornings.

_**Hello, Jesse. It's Rachel Berry from New Directions, we met backstage after the Sectionals competition today.**_

As soon as she sent the text to the number labeled Jesse St J in her contacts, she wished she could delete it. How absolutely stupid did she sound? Hadn't he known who she was already today when he gave her his number? He was probably going to think she was stupid now for reminding him who she was. She should have asked Kurt what to text Jesse before doing so.

A moment later however, her phone buzzed and Rachel tried to take a calming breath before opening her new text.

_**It's great to hear from you Rachel, celebrating your win?**_

She couldn't help but grinning. Jesse St. James thought it was great to hear from her. How many girls could say that? Probably not very many, how much dating could a star like him do while practicing for nationals anyways?

_**All finished celebrating for the night, I have an early morning tomorrow.**_

She barely had time to readjust herself on her bed when her phone was buzzing again.

_**Ah, the life of a star. No time to enjoy the perks of it. **_

Rachel laughed to herself. She wasn't quite a star yet, at least not on the level she wanted to be. But it was reassuring to have someone as amazing as Jesse call her a star indirectly. Before she could write another text to him however, her phone buzzed.

_**It's a shame we'll have to face off at Regionals isn't it?**_

She frowned, not having realized that quite yet. How could their mismatched glee club compare to Vocal Adrenalines, especially with Jesse as their front man?

_**I hadn't thought of that, I suppose it will be interesting to see how everything works out.**_

This time she had to wait a few minutes before the next text arrived.

_**I heard you've been invited to join VA, have you considered it at all?**_

Shock gripped Rachel as she read this text. How could he possibly know about that? The only people she'd informed were Kurt and Tina, and that wasn't even her choice. Her fathers weren't even aware of the three letters in her vanity's drawer.

_**How did you hear about that?**_

The reply came almost instantly.

_**Our director thought it would be a good idea for me to come watch your show, I wasn't sure why until I overheard her talking to Dakota Stanley about recruiting you. He seemed to think it was a bad idea, but I disagree.**_

Tugging on her lip as she contemplated what this all meant, Rachel watched her reflection from her vanity mirror. Dakota had been very harsh when saying she'd never make it with her nose the way it was. All of her life, she'd tried to tell herself that if Barbra could make it with her nose, then she could as well. But what if she was wrong? What if to fit into a place like Vocal Adrenaline, the best glee club in America, she'd have to get a nose job? She tried to picture herself with a smaller nose, maybe something like Quinn's, before shaking her head and sending a reply.

_**Well, yes, I have gotten invitations to transfer schools and join VA. ND needs me though. **_

A minute later she received his reply.

_**Is that really fair to you? Having to carry an entire group of people who aren't ready to take it to the national level? You deserve to be in a group that will allow you to shine and become the star you're meant to be. VA wants you, does ND?**_

Rachel sucked in a breath as she read the last sentence. She'd always accepted that New Directions needed her voice in order to lead them to victory. Sure, she was replaced with April Rhodes for that one song in Invitationals, but honestly, April Rhodes wouldn't be able to take them to Nationals. But could _she_ lead them to Nationals the way they were?

But could she honestly tell Jesse that her glee clubbers wanted her there? Santana had turned back into her cold bitchy state after the baby drama. Quinn was now sending her daily glares, especially whenever Puck went near her. Mercedes had originally taken her ballad, and only grudgingly gave it back to her. In fact everyone except for Kurt and Tina had been rather cold to her this week.

And how many times had they insulted her and told her to shut up during their meetings?

Her phone buzzed with another text.

_**I'm not telling you how to live your life Rachel, but think about the future. Having VA in your back pocket will open a lot of doors when it comes to applying to colleges and getting to Broadway, if you wanted. Your voice is perfect for Broadway, did you know that?**_

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face then. No one had ever told her that directly before without knowing about her dreams beforehand.

_**You really think so?**_

Her fingers formed the question without her thinking about it.

_**Absolutely, a little training and no one would ever be able to turn you down at auditions. **_

Maybe going to Carmel High wouldn't be so bad… Rachel could certainly use the space from Puck and Quinn and even Finn right now.

_**Perhaps I could discuss the possibility of switching schools with my fathers tomorrow. **_

They would probably understand her wanting to switch schools… But would they be okay with her wanting to do so now that the glee club had won at Sectionals?

_**Great, and if you ever have any questions, you know where to reach me. Now get some sleep, we wouldn't want you to be overly tired with your early morning would we?**_

She smiled and began sliding down in her bed, getting comfortable for sleeping as she sent a last text.

_**Thanks Jesse, good night.**_

Her phone buzzed one last time.

_**Sweet dreams.**_

Monday after they'd performed for Mr. Schuester, Rachel found herself packing up her locker. After a long discussion with her fathers they'd agreed to allow Rachel to switch schools, but only if she was sure that she truly wanted to. That night she'd sent a text to Jesse asking him if he could help get her enrolled in Carmel High. After sending him her schedule from McKinley, he said he'd handle it tomorrow and she'd be able to start Tuesday.

So that morning she'd gone to the principal's office and informed him of her switching schools the next day, he'd seemed skeptical but assured her he'd get her transcripts sent over as soon as possible. So during lunch she informed Kurt and Tina about her switching schools and after extensively explaining her reasoning, they reluctantly wished her luck and promised not to say anything until she left.

She'd kept a happy face while performing the number they'd all mixed together after their performance and during lunch that day, and mentioned to no one that she would be leaving. Sighing, she shoved another notebook into her book.

"Going somewhere?" the familiar deep voice of Rachel's boyfriend (or was it ex-boyfriend now?) called from behind her. She froze for a moment before shoving the contents of her locker more viciously into her back pack. "Seriously Rach?" he asked, annoyance seeping into his voice.

"I've been offered a place at Vocal Adrenaline. I wasn't going to accept their proposition but all things considered I think it might be the best course of action if I want to continue on my path to Broadway." She said this all very quickly, trying to rip the band-aid off before he could cut her off and start disputing what she was saying.

"That's shitty, even for you Rach. I thought glee club meant more to you than that. I thought _I_ meant more than to you than that." He growled at her, taking her bag from her so she would stop her hasty actions and pay attention to him. But Rachel wasn't in the mood to hear what he had to say right now, especially if he was going to behave like this.

She scoffed as she turned towards him, grabbing for her bag, but he was too quick for her, pulling it out of her reach. "Really Noah, stop acting like a child and let me finish getting my things together."

"You're not leaving." His hazel eyes were nearly slits as he glared at her. But Rachel could easily see the hurt brewing behind the anger.

"I am." When Puck started to talk again she cut him off, "Why would I stay here any longer Noah? So I can watch you try to win Quinn over so that you can have your perfect family? So I can continue to be your secret girlfriend when it's a convenient for you? So I can continue being ridiculed in glee club and slushied nearly every day by _your_ friends? I'm still human Noah, and I'm tired of not being treated as such."

Rachel slammed her locker shut, not caring anymore about the things she'd be leaving behind in it, it was almost symbolic. She snatched her bag from Puck, who was shocked and numb from her revelation. She rushed out of the school, hoping the tears that were welling up wouldn't pour over until she was in the safety of her bedroom. It wouldn't help to have her dad to see her cry right now, he'd think she needed to stay at McKinley, which she certainly didn't.

But before she could exit the last door leading to the parking lot a hand grabbed her and pulled her back into the school.

"Please Rach, I know I fucked up, but you can't just leave like this." He was begging her now, his eyes turning almost completely green like they did when he was honestly upset. It made Rachel's heart clench.

"I'm sorry Noah, but I think this is the best for everyone." She whispered, trying to pull her arm away from him, but he wouldn't let go.

He barked out a humorless laugh, "Bull shit. You belong here Rach, with us. You really think those drones at Carmel will let you take leads in their songs? Do you think you'll be the shining star that makes the entire group come to life? You won't."

His words hit a sore spot with Rachel and she whipped her arm away from him and stomped out of the school without another word. She'd show him, she'd show all of them that she truly was a star, with or without them. Just as she was climbing into her dads car her phone buzzed.

_**Can't wait to see you at school tomorrow. **_

Rachel suddenly couldn't wait to see Jesse either. Tomorrow would be the start of her new life.

**AN: I have been so so excited about posting this chapter, I had to hold myself back from posting it the night I posted chapter four when I finished it! Will Rachel love Vocal Adrenaline? What will Puck do now? **

**Lucky for you I'm already working on chapter six! (also, who else is as excited as I am about the MJ episode next week? It looks so epic.)**


	6. Piano Man

Rachel wasn't sure what she'd expected of Vocal Adrenaline, but this certainly wasn't it. They'd been practicing nearly non-stop since 2:15 when the last class started (which for all VA members was choir, letting them start practice earlier). Glancing at the clock at the back of the auditorium the small hand was pointing directly at the number 5. Almost three hours they'd been here, and her body was close to collapsing. She noticed the only members who looked nearly in as bad as shape as her, were the two to the right of her. The next newest members to her, she assumed.

Finally Shelby seemed exasperated and told them all to take five, and to be sure to hydrate. Rachel's body almost gave out in relief. Why wasn't she more prepared for this? She'd taken all of the dance and singing lessons that were humanly possible for her. Practicing like this should have been a cake walk. Maybe New Directions had made her become lazy with their lax attitude towards the arts.

Somehow she managed to make it to the edge of the stage near the stairs and sit down; sipping the water bottle she'd left there during their last break. Just as her heart rate was slowing, someone shocked her out of her thoughts.

"So how are you holding up Rachel?" she looked up to see the beaming face of Jesse St. James staring down at her. It barely even looked like he'd broken a sweat at all, and instead of water, he was gulping down a Red Bull. She winced at the drink before shrugging.

"It's a little rough, but that's show business right? I'm sure I'll have the hang of it in no time." She tried to sound as confident as possible, but the sympathetic smile of Jesse's face made her think she wasn't doing a very good job. "Okay fine, I'm tired and annoyed by being thrown into the back like a sack of bad smelling potatoes." She ground out bitterly before taking another drink of water.

Jesse's musical laugh rang out as he sat next to her on the stair case. "We've all been in the back before Rachel, before you know it ranks will change and you'll be heading towards the front."

"How long did it take you to get to the front?" she inquired. It was hard to imagine Jesse St. James not being the lead of Vocal Adrenaline.

"Around four or five days, if I remember correctly." He replied off-handedly. "They wanted to make me lead right away, but felt it would be unfair to the others who had to work for where they were."

Rachel hung her head. Shelby hadn't said anything about her being a lead singer, or even being talented enough for the front line. If Jesse had known from the start that he'd be a lead, did that mean Rachel truly had to work from the bottom? She glanced behind her and saw the girl who stood in front of her during practice; she thought her name was Veronica. The girl had been complaining to her partner an hour ago about how her senior year was going to end with her still being in the back half of the group. What if that was Rachel in two years? Today she didn't have any vocal parts other than a few ooo's and ahh's.

"Hey don't sweat it," Jesse said then, and when Rachel turned back towards him, his eyes were filled with kindness. "You have something more than half of the people in this room don't have. Do you know what that is?" Rachel shook her head in dismay, causing Jesse to chuckle. "Star potential. Give it a week or two and you'll be in the front row with me." He winked discreetly at her.

She found herself grinning despite herself. Jesse stood and offered his hand to help pull her up. She was grateful for the help because her body was still tired. As they walked back to mid-stage, he assured her that they'd be finished within the next hour.

The next hour turned into two, and nearly three, before Shelby got a phone call. Apparently she was needed elsewhere, and so at 7:40, they were all released. Rachel almost dropped on the spot when they were told they were done for the day. She'd been using muscles she'd forgotten about over and over. Thankfully the last two hours had been purely vocal, but it was still tiring mentally.

"Need a ride home?" Jesse asked as Rachel slowly packed up her bag. Most other glee members had already left in groups, talking excitedly. There had been position changes today, and several people moved up in the ranks.

"As lovely as that would be, I can just catch the bus." Rachel murmured, trying to hide her disappointment. The girl that had been just above her was a subpar singer and dancer, but Rachel hadn't even moved beyond her. It was making her question whether she ought to be here at all, and the last thing she wanted was to be in an enclosed space with the star of the group.

"Actually," Jesse stopped her, mid stride heading for the door, "The last public bus took off at 7:30."

Rachel deflated. She could of course call Kurt to come pick her up, but that would mean another twenty minutes of waiting to get picked up. She forced a smile on her face, "Thank you Jesse." Feeling sorry for herself would have to wait until she got home then.

As they walked to his Range Rover, Jesse explained several things to Rachel. How the rehearsal tonight was brutal to even long time members like him. Normally practices didn't last later than 6 pm anymore. How he thought that by the time she was a senior, Rachel would be like him, the star. But Rachel didn't want to wait two more years before possibly becoming the star. She wanted to shine _now_.

A wave of de ja vu hit her as she climbed in the passenger seat. It was so much like riding home with Puck after their study sessions… Tears sprung in her eyes but Rachel furiously blinked them back before Jesse climbed in next to her and turned the vehicle on.

This wasn't like those times with Puck. For one, there were two separate seats of velvety plush rather than the one large plastic covered bench. Secondly, instead of the smell of stale beer and cigarettes, Jesse's vehicle smelled like Red Bull and very expensive cologne that Rachel couldn't name, but it smelled intoxicating.

"Your voice really is amazing you know? You shouldn't doubt your talent." Jesse's random comment caught Rachel off guard as they pulled away from Carmel High.

"I know my talent is above average, but it doesn't seem as though Shelby believes it's anything special."

The musical laughter rang out again, "Why would she personally invite you to join our glee club if that were the case Rachel? She probably doesn't want everyone to think she's favoring you by throwing you lead with me." He smirked at her, making her smile.

"Perhaps you're correct." She conceded.

"I could practice with you if you want. I know the dance steps and vocals for tomorrow's song." He offered, but Rachel stuttered in shock.

"You mean we have an entirely new song to practice tomorrow? " The song today had been fairly complicated compared to anything she'd done in New Directions so far, and they had usually spent a few days perfecting a serious number.

"Of course," Jesse sounded taken aback. "We practice a new number every day other than the weekends. I thought you knew that by now. At the end of the week we pick the best and the week before a competition we take each week's best and pick three to perfect for the competition." He explained very quickly.

Panic rose through Rachel's body. Years of the intense training she thought she'd been going through, suddenly didn't seem so intense anymore. "Don't you think that's verging on over-kill?" she breathed out. If she were going to be having a rehearsal like today's on top of her other lessons, she'd be dead within a month.

Jesse shot a side long glance at her, his face turning into quiet disbelief. "Are you sure you're the Rachel Berry that Shelby raved about and insisted that I attend New Directions Sectional competition to see?"

"There's only three other Rachel Berry's in the world. None of which are the appropriate age for high school, nor live in Ohio." She shot back without seeing his question as rhetorical, causing him to laugh almost musically.

"Yes, you certainly do seem to be the Rachel Berry I was looking for."

Something in his voice made Rachel's cheeks tint pink, and she turned to look outside the window, noticing that he was nearly at her house. This left her feeling confused.

"How do you know where I live?" As far as she was aware, most people even in McKinley High had no idea where her house was. She'd been forced to give Finn and the other glee clubbers very specific directions to her house.

He ran a hand through his perfectly tousled curls. "Well, I might have taken a peek at your transfer forms and might have checked to see where you lived." He threw her a winning smile, and Rachel found herself smiling as well instead of feeling as though her privacy was invaded.

As they pulled up to her house, her hand reached for the door handle. Her fathers weren't home yet by the looks of the darkened house. This had a tendency to worry Rachel as she didn't prefer to be left alone at her house during the night. While they lived at a very respectable part of Lima, you could never be too safe these days.

"Would you like me to stay until one of your parents get home?" Jesse asked, seeming to almost read her mind. He seemed to be doing that a lot tonight, she realized as she turned to look at him.

"Yes, that would be very kind of you," she practically whispered before opening her door and sliding out of the large vehicle.

She waited for Jesse to join her on the sidewalk in front her house, and together they walked up the short drive way. A moment later she was unlocking the door and letting Jesse in, flipping on the closest light switch.

"That's a beautiful piano," he breathed once he'd walked into her living room.

Rachel couldn't help but smile as she watched him walk towards the grand piano her dads had bought for the family when she was ten. They all made sure that it was immaculately clean and shiny at all times. Even now as Jesse sat on the cushioned bench and lifted the keys, his fingers were able to slide effortlessly down the keys without leaving a smudge.

Jesse began pressing down on the keys, weaving a melody that Rachel wasn't familiar with. The song sounded beautiful in any case, and she found herself sitting with Jesse on the bench, listening to him play for a few moments.

Once the song had come to an end he smiled down at her, a perfect tendril falling into his eyes and making him look nearly irresistible. The mood changed instantly, and Jesse began leaning down towards Rachel who licked her lips inconspicuously, watching as he did the same.

She could feel and smell his cool minty breath just as he was merely an inch from kissing her, kicking her heart into fifth gear. Rachel so badly wanted to feel his perfect pink lips against her own, craved it even.

The front door open and Rachel shot off the piano bench, standing quickly and pressing down on her skirt. "Rachel honey, that's not Puck's truck outside… Who's here with you?"

"Its Jesse daddy, he's from my new school." She squeaked out nervously. Part of her was thankful for the distraction her father being home had given her. Rachel's heart ached at the thought of what she'd nearly done. She almost kissed Jesse St. James! Now her father was mentioning Puck and sending waves of guilt over her body.

"Oh that's lovely!" Her dad called as he entered the living room, beaming at the boy who was still sitting on the piano bench. Rachel was too scared to look at Jesse now, afraid that she'd see him beating himself up for almost kissing someone so far beneath him.

"It's nice to meet you sir. Your daughter is extremely talented." Rachel watched as Jesse elegantly rose from the bench and met her father halfway across the room, his hand outstretched. From the look in her fathers eye, she could see that Jesse's charms didn't only work on hormonally enraged teenagers.

Her father laughed happily, "I wish I could take credit for her talents, but it's all her. I'm just glad that Leroy and I are able to help her along the way." After a brief pause he continued, "I thought I heard the piano when I got out of my car, were you playing Jesse?"

Jesse smiled brightly, "Yes sir, I was just letting Rachel listen to a song that is passed down through my family. Your piano was so inviting, I just couldn't help myself. You don't mind, do you?" Even Rachel could tell that Jesse didn't feel truly guilty about playing the piano without permission, but she also knew that her father would have no problems with it. He enjoyed it too much when someone complimented the Berry's finest musical instrument.

"No, no not at all! In fact, why don't you two sing a duet with the piano? I have the perfect song!" Laying his brief case on a side table, Hiram bustled about the room, going to a cabinet that stored all of their sheet music. He shuffled through a few books before exclaiming "Aha!" and pulling out a book that Rachel had personally never used and flipping to a specific page. He showed it to Jesse who merely grinned and sat down with the book at the piano again.

"I think we can sing this." Were the only words he said before glancing at Rachel, grinning. She took this as a sign that he wasn't completely repulsed by what had almost happened, and took a seat next to him, being careful to keep a safe distance from him. Glancing at the title of the song, she smiled. Her fathers had sung 'Hello' to each other after one of their more serious fights a few years ago. She'd had a fondness for it since then, and so had they.

After the song, in which Rachel had a difficult time controlling her feelings, Jesse excused himself saying he needed to head home before his parents worried. Rachel was fairly sure this was just an excuse, but as the week progressed she thought maybe it hadn't been.

Each day she barely suffered through glee rehearsals. She hadn't moved up even one spot, even though the two back rows shifted around so much that rarely anyone else had kept their positions. Each night Jesse drove her home and would come inside to perform a duet using her family's piano. After each duet, he would say he needed to head home, leaving with a reassurance that tomorrow would be the day that Rachel would move up in the ranks.

Finally on Thursday night, she confessed that she was considering just transferring back to McKinley. She'd found out that her forms hadn't been completely processed, so the transition would be simple. Jesse pleaded with her to stick it out at least one more day, if she didn't move up a rank he'd take her out on a date to get her mind off of it. If she did move a rank? Well he'd take her out anyways to celebrate.

So that was it, she had a date with Jesse St. James on Friday night. With haste, she called Kurt, begging for help. The only real date's she'd ever been on were with Finn and Puck… and well they weren't anything like Jesse. She had no idea what to expect, or what to wear.

After two hours of discussing what outfit to wear and how to do her hair and makeup, Kurt told her to get some beauty sleep. Unfortunately she still had a stack of homework that needed to be done. Although majority of Vocal Adrenaline never did their homework (and in some cases never went to class), Rachel refused to follow suit.

Quickly, she turned on her laptop, which automatically turned on her messengers and showed her how many new e-mails she had. With forced concentration, she ignored these things, closing down the unnecessary windows. Before she could open her browser to search for information on a paper she needed to write however, another window popped up.

**Puckerman69:** can we talk plz?

**Puckerman69:** rach u cant ignore me forever

**Puckerman69:** we miss u

**Puckerman69:** well mostly me

**Puckerman69:** guess ill ttyl

_Puckerman69 has signed off._

Rachel watched as each message came, a few minutes between every one. The same thing happened every night, along with a text or two and a few calls. She knew she was being cruel by ignoring him. Even if she didn't want to be with him anymore, he deserved to hear that straight from her up front, rather than having to keep hoping and getting nothing in response.

The problem was however, that part of her still wanted Puck. Despite how beautiful and perfect Jesse was, on top of how incredible he'd been all week… and all of those almost kisses… Her heart still belonged to the boy she would never have. She could never look at him the same way she had a month ago.

Sighing, she closed the window and began working on her paper, mentally running over the routines she'd learned this week. Puck was part of her past; Vocal Adrenaline and Jesse St. James were her future. From now on, she'd focus on those two things and leave the rest behind her.

**An: I know I know, I'm completely terrible for this long wait. This chapter gave me hell, like literately. I actually wrote the next chapter and half of the chapter after that before I realized that this chapter NEEDED to be written in order for things to make sense. And by then, it really didn't want to be written. SO. This means that the next chapter and half the chapter after that are already completed! Hopefully this will mean that updates will be coming more regularly again. Sorry for the wait guys! **


	7. Milkshakes and BLTs

November was officially Pucks least favorite month. Before he never really had much of a preference of months, other than loving December for Hanukkah plus the summer months when he didn't have football practice. But he'd never actually hated a month this much. And sure, okay, the first week of the month hadn't been so bad, at least until Finn and Rachel found out about his kid, and he lost two of the most important people in his life at once.

Then Rachel and Finn both ignored him for an entire week. Now Rachel had been at Carmel High for a week. He hadn't seen nor heard from her at all. Every text he sent went unanswered, all calls ignored, and the one time he happened to catch her online on IM, she never responded even though she never became 'idle'.

A few months ago Puck would have told you the worst withdrawals were from lack of sex and nicotine. But today as he sat in their newly instated Friday glee practice, Puck was going through the worst Rachel withdrawal. He continually shifted in his seat, not listening as Mr. Schuester went over their lesson for this week (which Puck hadn't bothered listening to on Monday) and went on an overview of those who had already performed before asking Kurt if he was ready to do his performance.

Puck had to stop himself from sighing in frustration as Kurt handed his sheet music to Brad, the piano player. Glee club felt so… wrong without Rachel there. Normally she'd either be whispering about how this was the perfect selection or how another song would have suited Kurts voice better. She would also probably chastise Puck for not at least attempting to find a song that suited this weeks lesson so that he could showcase his voice to the group.

Then something happened that caused Puck to feel the first positive feeling he'd felt all week. A phrase in Kurts song made Puck think of another song, a song he could sing for Rachel. It was a long shot, but he knew the best way to her heart was through song, and this song might just help explain their relationship and how he felt about them as a couple. He waited impatiently for Kurt to finish singing so he could get Quinn home and start practicing. The pang he felt at not hearing Rachel's critique after Kurt finished was dulled slightly by the hope now pulsing through his veins.

Quinn wasn't happy about having to leave right away, since she usually hung around talking to Santana and Brittany before leaving school, but Puck didn't care today. Sure, she was his baby momma and he was always trying to make sure she was happy and healthy, but hadn't she been complaining just this morning about how he needed to stop being so miserable? If he could pull this stunt off, and win Rachel back with it, he wouldn't be miserable anymore.

Just as they reached the choir door however, he heard something that shattered all of the hope he felt.

"I w-wonder what Rachel's going to wear tonight when she sees J-Jesse." Tina stuttered.

Kurt scoffed, "I talked to her last night and helped her pick out an outfit, trust me, she'll look fabulous."

"Are we leaving or not?" Quinn snapped at him.

Puck blinked, "Rachel and St. Jerk-off are dating?" he asked her quietly enough that no one else would hear.

She rolled her eyes at him, "How would I know? You always make me leave before the good gossip starts."

He seemed to war with his inner self, wanting Quinn to go in and find out as much as possible so he'd know what he was up against. But at the same time he was pretty sure she wouldn't like knowing firsthand how much he still cared about Rachel.

Unfortunately for him, his desire to know about Rachel was written clearly across his face. Quinn sighed heavily, "Go get me a chocolate milkshake and a BLT then pick me up, that should be enough time for me to find out what you want to know."

Puck kissed her on the cheek, thanking her before rushing to his truck. Even though Quinn was completely beyond bitchy with her pregnancy hormones, at least she could still be cool when it counted. It didn't surprise him that she asked for what she had, seeing as his mom wouldn't allow her to have either of those at his house, particularly the bacon sandwich. Being Jewish really wasn't for everyone.

Almost a half an hour had passed by the time Puck pulled back into the schools parking lot, and apparently he had really good timing. The remaining glee members were standing outside the school doors, hugging and promising to call one another over the weekend. He couldn't help but notice how pleased Quinn looked, a smirk on her face that she only wore when she was taking an enemy down silently and watching them crumble. It made him nervous.

When Quinn opened the passenger seat door she practically moaned, "You have NO idea how amazing that bacon smells right now." And without further ado, she unwrapped the sandwich and took a huge bite. It sort of made Puck wince at how ungracefully she went at that bacon. Rachel would have never eaten the sandwich like that. But then again, Rachel wouldn't have eaten it in the first place, being vegan and all.

"Yeah well just make sure it's gone before we get home. Ma would murder me if she knew I let you have that." He mumbled as he pulled out of the school parking lot, nodding at Mike and Matt as he passed them.

"As much as I respect your mother Puck, she needs to respect that I am not Jewish, and if this baby wants bacon it should get bacon." She snapped before taking another large mouthful and washing it down with the milkshake. "So. Good."

Puck sighed before taking a turn that would make them getting home take ten minutes longer. His mom wasn't working today, and he wanted to get all the information out of her before getting home. His fingers began tapping on the steering wheel as he waited for Quinn to finish eating. A couple of days ago he learned that if he tried talking to her while she was eating, she was liable to start yelling at him and even start crying because her meal was ruined.

Finally after what felt like an eternity, and four more wrong turns, Quinn tossed the wrapper to the sandwich into the bag and swirled her half empty milkshake around before turning in her seat towards him. "Well first off, from what Kurt told us, she's obviously miserable. Vocal Adrenaline is like a slave camp, which of course we already knew. Add that on top of the fact that there's no way in hell a newcomer like Rachel will ever get a lead… And well, she doesn't really want to be there anymore." She shrugged and sipped on her milkshake again.

"Is she coming back then?" as he said the words he realized he sounded more angry than he ought to, and sent an apologetic glance towards Quinn.

She rolled her eyes before he focused on the roads again. "Kurt's going to try to talk to her tonight after her date with Jesse. Hopefully he's as much of an ass as his reputation claims."

Puck drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as Quinn continued to drink her shake. He wasn't exactly sure what all of this meant for him and Rachel. The fact that she was willing to go out with St. Fucks Face kind of made it seem like she didn't want anything to do with him anymore. So should he attempt his idea still? Maybe he should save his ego and just forget about it.

"Whatever you're thinking about Puckerman just spit it out." Quinn said, before muttering under her breath, "looks like he's passing a kidney stone."

Gnawing on his tongue, he carefully parked in his driveway before speaking. "Do you think we could put together something for her tomorrow at the mall?"

Quinn quirked an eyebrow in curiosity, "What'd you have in mind?"

In that moment, he felt real gratitude and respect for his baby mama. How many chicks would be willing to help him get back the girl of his dreams while having his kid in their stomach? Probably none. Without even a moment of hesitation, he began explaining his idea. Quinn dialed Kurt's number almost immediately claiming he'd be the best person to help put this together in such a sort amount of time.

Puck felt naked. Okay maybe that was an over exaggeration, but still… He'd never sung in front of anyone without playing his guitar at the same time. Not while singing solo anyways. Even though he knew there were going to be people around the food court with instruments waiting to play for him… It didn't make him feel any less naked now as he stood behind the pillar, waiting for Kurt's signal to start.

Kurt had been over at Puck's house the night before until nearly midnight, trying to help him get this performance just right. The lady-like boy even changed his plans with Rachel just so that Puck could go through with this. He wasn't really sure why he was so willing to help him, but hell if it got him Rachel back he wasn't going to question it.

It didn't change the fact that he still felt naked though. He shoved his hands in his pockets, wishing he'd pushed Kurt harder to let the guitar be part of the arrangement. No matter what he'd said the night before, Kurt firmly stated that him playing guitar would ruin the sincerity and deep meaning of the song. Sighing, he watched the back of Rachel's head. He was doing this for her. He could do this. Even if he was completely naked…. Which might actually help the situation, cause who could resist the Puckasaurus?

Suddenly, Kurt untied his scarf, folded it and placed it in his satchel. Violins around the court suddenly came out of the shadows, playing the overly familiar tune. Puck took a deep breath and stepped out from his hiding place.

It was show time.

**AN: Short chapter, but I promise it'll be made up for in the next chapter.. which I still need to finish.**

**Also, you guys rule. I broke 100 alerts for the first time last chapter! I nearly cried. Love you all!**


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